12 March 2024 , 08:25
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Kensington Palace's sudden reaction to Kate's Mother's Day photo editing storm "lacks dignity," a royal expert has claimed.
The Royal Family has been engulfed in a public relations storm of their own brewing after Sunday's post from Kensington Palace included a picture with a number of strange details. A number of major press organisations then publicly announced a "kill notice" of the image, citing fears it had been manipulated.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams noted Princess of Wales was seen on Monday in the back seat of a car with her husband as he left Windsor to travel to London for two public engagements. Kate, 42, was en route to a "private appointment" and she did not accompany William publicly, it is understood.
Mr Fitzwilliams said he felt this "sudden appearance" wasn't the appropriate response to the row over the edited image issued to celebrate Mother's Day. The royal expert said: "When journalists have been saying they want to 'see' Catherine, no one, as I understand it, meant in quite this way. A sudden appearance, which she has just made, is a knee jerk reaction which lacks what royals must have, that is dignity.
"This business has also overshadowed Commonwealth Day. There should never have been two and a half months where she seemed to disappear, we should, occasionally, have felt we were in touch whilst it was important she felt she had kept her privacy."
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"William and Catherine are under tremendous pressure, which is particularly horrible if one has been seriously ill as she has. However, the mistake of editing the photograph, though extremely embarrassing, is not a major calamity."
Kate got her surgery in the middle of January and Kensington Palace announced she returned home two weeks later and was "doing well." (PA)Kate wanted to own up as she believed honesty was the "best policy," it was claimed last night. She apologised for editing the image, taken by Prince of Wales, used to mark Mothering Sunday. The snap was pulled by major picture agencies, including Associated Press and Press Association, after they became suspicious it was manipulated.
In a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, Kate said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C"
Prince William broke cover to attend the annual Commonwealth Day service (AP)A palace insider told The Telegraph the Princess felt "awful" about the altered image, and she had tried to make the photo the "best it could be". Kensington Palace said it would not reissue the unedited photograph of Kate and her children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
But royal commentators and PR professionals, including public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski, have called for this photograph to be issued. Mr Fitzwilliams, 74, told Mail Online the handling of the media relations has been "potentially perilous".
"The public relations at the Palaces needs to be responsive and disciplined which it clearly is not. William and Catherine are the world’s most glamorous and high profile royal couple," Mr Fitzwilliams said.
Yesterday, Prince William made no mention of the row over the picture when he attended a “Launchpad” event to promote a Dragons’ Den-style scheme to get investors together with finalists in his Earthshot Prize environmental initiative.